Four weeks of probiotic supplements in women with diet-controlled gestational diabetes in the late second and early third trimester lowered fasting glucose and increased insulin sensitivity. Probiotic supplements may be considered as an adjunct treatment for glycemic control in these patients.

Lupeol and stigmasterol, major phytosterols in various herbal plants, possess anti-inflammatory activities and have been proposed as candidates for anti-cancer agents, but their molecular mechanisms are still unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of lupeol and stigmasterol on tumor and endothelial cells in vitro and their anti-cancer activities in vivo. Our results demonstrated that lupeol and stigmasterol suppressed cell viability, migration, and morphogenesis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) but not cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) cells. Expression analyses showed that the treatment of both compounds significantly reduced the transcript level of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and Western blot analyses further revealed a decrease in downstream effector levels of VEGFR-2 signaling, including phosphorylated forms of Src, Akt, PCL, and FAK, which were rescued by TNF-α treatment. In vivo, lupeol and stigmasterol disrupted tumor angiogenesis and reduced the growth of CCA tumor xenografts. Immunohistochemical analyses confirmed a decrease in CD31-positive vessel content and macrophage recruitment upon treatment. These findings indicate that lupeol and stigmasterol effectively target tumor endothelial cells and suppress CCA tumor growth by their anti-inflammatory activities and are attractive candidates for anti-cancer treatment of CCA tumors.

Sonographic reference ranges of the normal fetal thymic dimensions between 17 and 38 weeks of GA have been established. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 45:150-159, 2017.